How to stretch for success

SEDGEFIELD NEWS - Not too long after being crowned the winner of Sedgefield's 2021 Battle of the Buskers competition, Wilderness artist Stretch is on the verge of launching her debut album, Tales of Stretch: Pre-Apocalypse.

For the past four years Stretch has spent her time performing on stages up and down the Garden Route, with the journey starting rather humbly at the Mosaic Village and Outdoor Market in Sedgefield.

In those four years she spent countless hours developing a character, concept, and original music content, with the hard work culminating in the Steampunk-themed persona she goes by today.

In 2021 the growth of Stretch was given a welcome boost when she entered and won the Sedgefield Lions Club's Battle of the Buskers competition where she faced off against three other artists for the title.

The competition provided her with some welcome support.

"The album is a project that has been coming for a long time, so it would have happened either way. So, while not a direct result of the competition, Battle of the Buskers definitely helped give the album a little boost and to also give me a bit of momentum too, and I am eternally grateful for that," she said.

Stretch officially launched her debut album for the first time at an event in her home town, Cape Town, followed by a second launch show in Barrydale.

Stretch.

Now the three-show launch tour will be coming home to Sedgefield with a show at the new Simbavati Fynbos on Sea venue, which offers spectacular views of the Swartvlei estuary and the Slow Town in all its leisurely glory.

Stretch offered local media a bit of a teaser as to what to expect during the show with a small pre-launch performance at Simbavati Fynbos on Sea on Monday 7 March. Fellow Garden Route artist Hanna-Lee opened the performance - as she will do for the launch show too - with three of her own beautifully crafted and performed songs.

Stretch followed this with a few select songs off her album, offering some insight into and stories about each song she'd be performing. Her stories are often inspiring and uplifting as she drives her shows with underlying themes of self-love and pursuing one's dreams.

The official album performance will be on Saturday 19 March during the afternoon (as one needs to experience this venue during the day to properly take in the surroundings), starting from 12:00 and ending at 16:00.

Tickets are available online on Quicket. No tickets will be available for purchase at the gate, it is a pre-sale ticketed event only.

Photos: Blake Linder